Pre-K to K Transitions Matter

When early learning experiences are connected from birth through third grade (B–3rd), children and their families can more seamlessly transition into kindergarten. Smoothing transitions for children and families requires careful planning, effective policies and practices, and sustainable funding. Kindergarten is a big change for children and their families, especially for those who do not participate in public pre-K in a school setting. Educators can establish practices that put families more at ease, but the planning must begin well before the first day of school. On day one, teachers and schools should already have enough information to begin tailoring instruction, strategies, and environments to meet the needs of every kindergartener.

Attending to the transition into kindergarten can improve children’s learning outcomes. Studies show connections between the number of transition activities schools provide and academic gains for low- and middle-income children as well as pre-K and kindergarten teacher perceptions of children’s social skills and behavior.¹ But more does not always mean better. The available research shows the level of intensity in transition activities matter. Low-intensity activities, such as informational packets sent home to help families get ready for kindergarten are common, but these are not as beneficial for children and families as high-intensity activities, such as visits to kindergarten classrooms and joint planning time and data sharing for pre-K and kindergarten teachers.² And, while children from low-income families gain the most from frequent and intensive transition activities, they experience them the least.³

Undoubtedly, children and families need activities that engage them early and provide them with information and comfort as they begin the kindergarten year. But expanding thinking about transition activities to also encompass alignment and coordination across pre-K and the early grades will help create a truly seamless early educational experience. Children benefit when there are consistent high-quality learning environments and learning experiences across settings and sectors before school, in kindergarten, and through the early grades. Educators across PreK–3rd are key to making this happen. Efforts that bring adults together to align expectations, discipline strategies, curricula, assessments, instructional strategies, and learning environments and to share data, planning sessions, and professional development may be less visible to children and families but no less significant. In fact, these pieces may be the most critical for creating a seamless transition into kindergarten and each early grade thereafter.⁴

According to the Education Commission of the States, nearly half of states and the District of Columbia have some requirement for transition planning either in statute or regulatory code, but the depth of the requirement varies as does the responsible entity.⁵ For example, California code specifies that school districts must provide “educational continuity from preschool through K–3” when the district offers public preschool programs. This includes providing opportunities for teachers and administrators in these programs as well as in elementary schools to come together for planning and professional development.⁶ In Maine, public preschool programs are required to have a process for providing transitions to kindergarten. Mississippi’s code says that transition plans for kindergarten are part of the Child Care Quality Step System. West Virginia requires every county to have a collaborative early childhood team that develops a plan for children transitioning from pre-K to kindergarten.⁷ The law goes on to specify that plans must include “an opportunity for teachers from each system to meet annually to discuss how to facilitate successful transitions,” among multiple other requirements.

In the most recent iteration of the federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), school districts must enter into agreements with Head Start programs serving children feeding into the district as well as with other early childhood programs, as possible.⁸ Head Start programs have always been required to establish memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with LEAs, but under ESSA the MOU requirement is now reciprocal, making it the responsibility of both Head Start (and other early childhood programs when possible) and LEAs to coordinate on several issues, including improving transitions for children and families. While not necessarily required, several other federal programs, state programs, and initiatives discussed below encourage states and LEAs to strengthen pre-K to K transitions and other transition points too.